Best Indiana Women’s Basketball Players Of The 2020s So Far: No. 9 Nicole Cardaño-Hillary

Nicole Cardaño-Hillary checked a lot of boxes regarding what Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren likes to have from her guards.

Cardaño-Hillary could see the floor well.

Cardaño-Hillary could defend and was opportunistic.

Cardaño-Hillary could shoot well enough to keep an opposing defense off-balance.

Cardaño-Hillary did more than just complement the star players; she could go on a star turn herself.

Those traits are one reason why Indiana’s upward trajectory continued with Cardaño-Hillary in the program from 2020-22. She was a major part of Indiana teams that advanced to the Elite Eight in 2021 and the Sweet 16 in 2022.

Cardaño-Hillary, a 6-foot guard, came to Indiana as a polished player. She played at George Mason from 2017-20. She averaged 18.8 points for George Mason, and she was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2019 after she averaged 20.4 points.

With stars Grace Berger, Mackenzie Holmes, Ali Patberg, Jaelynn Penn and Aleksa Gulbe in the starting lineup, Cardaño-Hillary wasn’t called upon to do as much scoring for the Hoosiers. She came off the bench in 2021 until January when Penn got hurt. Penn left the team in February, and Cardaño-Hillary was inserted into the starting five for good.

It was the only starting lineup switch Moren made all season, and it paid off. With Cardaño-Hillary in the starting lineup, Indiana was 16-2 in 2021, including the 3-1 run in the NCAA Tournament.

Cardaño-Hillary had a season-high 17 points in a game against Iowa in February, but her most impactful game was in the NCAA Tournament against North Carolina State. Though she was 5 of 15 from the field, Cardaño-Hillary scored 14 points and had four steals as the Hoosiers bested the Wolf Pack 73-70 to advance to the Elite Eight.

Steals were part of Cardaño-Hillary’s stock-and-trade. At George Mason, she led the Atlantic 10 in thefts in each of her three seasons. She averaged 1.8 steals in her two seasons at Indiana.

Established as a starter for the 2022 season, Cardaño-Hillary averaged 11.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals. She improved her 3-point shooting by eight percentage points to 35.7%.

She had 29 points in the season opener against Butler. She was very good in the Big Ten Tournament as Indiana advanced to the championship game. She scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds in a 70-62 semifinal win over Ohio State, and she scored 19 points with seven rebounds in the championship game loss to Iowa.

After her eligibility was exhausted, Cardaño-Hillary played for IDK Euskotren in Spain, her home country.

Cardaño-Hillary is the first of the core group of starters who played more than one season for Indiana to enter the top 16. From her spot on up to No. 1, all of the Hoosiers had careers that lifted Indiana into a position as one of the best teams in the Big Ten in the 2020s.

Previous women's basketball top 16 players of the 2020s

No. 10 - Brenna Wise
No. 11 - Shay Ciezki
No. 12 - Jaelynn Penn
No. 13 - Karoline Striplin
No. 14 - LIlly Meister
No. 15 - Kiandra Browne
No. 16 - Julianna LaMendola